


Coming to Terms

by PhilArd



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Connected Drabbles, Fix-It of Sorts, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Beta Read, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Time Skips, one of the few fics in this pairing without rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27665524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhilArd/pseuds/PhilArd
Summary: What started out as a purely business relationship between Champion Leon and Chairman Rose slowly develops into something closer. There are many bumps in the road there, though, as Leon comes to terms with everything that Rose is- the good and the bad.Basically a string of time-skipping drabbles I've melded into a story (and also my attempt at adding some wholesomeness in this ship tag because purpleroseshipping deserves better).
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Rose | Chairman Rose, Dande | Leon/Rose | Chairman Rose
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. The Birth of a Champion

When Leon turned ten, he was finally of age to compete in the Gym Challenge. Of course, not many ten year olds made it very far in the challenge, but what really mattered was that they could get their foot in the door and begin their training. This was not the case for Leon, though, who had been training at the Isle of Armor for the past year under the intense eye of former Champion Mustard. He already went through his basic training and more, and was ready to face the challenge for real.

Leon had always thought Master Mustard would be the one to endorse him for the challenge. He was a former Champion with the power to do so, and Leon had been his top student despite his young age. When he approached his master about it, though, Mustard’s ever-present smile quickly turned sour as he scoffed. “You’re much better than the gym challenge, my boy. You don’t need to get wrapped up in that nonsense to be a strong trainer.”

Leon had been crushed. He had read in old news articles online about Mustard’s time in the gym challenge and knew he had retired abruptly shortly after losing his partner Pokemon. His master did not hide his distaste for the League, but that shouldn’t have stopped him from endorsing his top student, right? Besides, most of the head staff in the League had changed since Mustard’s days as Champion. They had a new Chairman who was young and dynamic; much better than the previous old man who was busted for some sort of corruption Leon was too young to understand. The Gym Challenge was better now, and Leon saw no reason why he couldn’t be a part of it.

He went home that summer absolutely defeated, unable to even finish his training due to his awful sense of direction. It had been crushing, especially after the blow of his master refusing to endorse him or even find someone else that would. In his resentment, he had returned Kubfoo to Mustard, telling him to find someone he found worthy to care for the Pokemon because it certainly couldn’t be Leon. The child ignored the sad smile on the older man’s face as he entered the flying taxi, too angry to care.

If Master Mustard did not believe in him, Leon did not know who would.

He had only been home for a week. The Gym Challenge would be starting in another two weeks, and Leon did not know what to do with himself. He had spent his days keeping his Charmeleon in shape on the off chance that Mustard would change his mind, but so far he had received no endorsement in the mail and no apology text on his phone. The only person that could lift his spirits was his little brother Hop, who even at only three years old, jumped with joy every time Charmeleon landed a fiery blow on the training dummy. The sun was bright that summer day, increasing the fire Pokemon’s power. It was the perfect day to train and show off for Hop, even though it was still fairly early. Leon had been quick to throw on a simple t-shirt and shorts, and dragged his little brother out of bed to watch. It didn’t take long to hype Hop up though, and soon they were out the back door. 

“Make Char-Char do more fire!” Hop cheered as Charmeleon surrounded itself in its brilliant flames. Leon barely had time to step away from the training dummy before Charmeleon was already going at it, throwing its flames at the doll while also performing various flips and dodges around it to demonstrate how it would avoid oncoming attacks. It looked like a dance, but a powerful one. 

“That’s not all he can do. We’ve been learning a new move, this one’s a dark-type. Charmeleon, use crunch!”  
The Pokemon reared its head back, its already sharp fangs seemingly increasing in size and emanating a sort of glow as they charged up for the attack. The doll stood no chance as Charmeleon clamped its jaws around its neck and tossed it aside with ease despite it weighing quite a lot to stay upright. 

“That was amazing!” Hop cheered. 

“Yes, quite impressive!”

Leon whipped around to see where that unfamiliar voice came from. Before him stood a man who looked much younger than his parents but certainly older than a teenager, dressed in a crisp grey suit far worth far beyond what anyone could afford in Postwick. He had black hair that fell a bit along the side of his face, framing his jawline quite nicely. What Leon noticed most though were his eyes. They were a brilliant emerald green and seemed to shine with all the intelligence and kindness in the world. Though Leon had never met him before, he knew exactly who he was looking at; the Chairman of Macro Cosmos.

The man gave Leon a cheerful laugh, “Goodness, is there something on my suit for you to stare at me like that?”

Leon immediately stood straighter and cast his eyes to his feet in a more polite greeting, “No, sir. I am just surprised… you, you’re the boss of Macro Cosmos right?”

“That’s right. My name is Rose. You must be Leon, right? I’ve been inside talking to your mother. She says you are quite the talented trainer, and she is right- you just turned ten years old and your partner Pokemon has already evolved into a Charmeleon! Not only that, but it is brimming with energy. I do believe it will evolve any day now.”

“For real?!” Leon stole a glance at his partner, who flashed a toothy grin back at him. 

“And on top of it,” Rose continued, “But you seem to be a very good brother, too. You already have your biggest fan watching your matches.”

“Yeah, Lee is the best!” Hop chimed in, bouncing up and down on the hay barrel he had been sitting on a moment ago. Leon couldn’t help but blush a bit.

“Ah, where are my manners. You must be wondering why I am here, yes? The gym challenge is starting soon, and when I heard there was a young boy who aced the Master Dojo’s training before his tenth birthday without being endorsed, I simply had to make a visit.” Rose put his hands on his knees to be eye to eye with Leon, but the boy was so tall it did not take much. The Chairman reached into his jacket and produced a small, manilla envelope with a fancy blue ribbon from his pocket. “Leon, I have not found anyone I wanted to endorse this year. I was wondering if you would do me the honor of accepting my invitation to compete in the Gym Challenge.” 

Leon was absolutely speechless for the first time in his life. He willed his hands not to shake as he grabbed the letter. After staring at it for a moment to make sure it was real, he looked back into Rose’s eyes and nodded with all the seriousness a ten year old boy can have. “I won’t let you down, sir!”

“Haha, I know you won’t!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In only a little more than a week, Leon was able to beat the gym leaders standing in his way. Even though they were a challenge, he kept telling himself that this was his one and only chance, granted to him by arguably the most powerful man in Galar. He could not let Mr. Rose down, no matter what. He definitely couldn’t let down his family and hometown, either. He was determined to win the finals and become the Galar Region’s Champion.

It still did not stop him from having to do breathing exercises in the waiting room as the arena prepped for the final match. His palms were sweaty and the screams of the crowd that usually gave him so much energy buzzed in his head like an alarm. He had one chance, and if he failed, he would forever be thrown into obscurity. It was all becoming a bit much for him, and he felt like there just wasn’t enough time to steady himself before the match.

Then, the now familiar voice of his sponsor sounded behind him. “It is almost time for the big show! Are you ready to face the Champion?”

Leon turned to face Rose, scratching the back of his head with nerves. “Ready as I’ll ever be, but still really nervous. I don’t want to let everyone down after everything you guys have done for me.”

Rose looked surprised, “This isn’t like you at all! Whatever happened to having a great time and doing your best?”  
“What if my best isn’t good enough?.. You’re amazing, and even you came in second place during your gym challenge.” That was a thing of the past not many recalled, but Leon had done his research and knew everything there was to know about the current Champion. He was well aware of everyone he had ever faced, and how quickly they had all gone down.

“Ah, there is nothing to be worried about, Leon. You could never disappoint me or anyone else. You are a fantastic trainer! Besides, think about your brother. You are his hero, and always will be no matter what happens today. That is how family is; their love is not conditional. Just go out there and have a champion time!”

“Have a champion time… yeah, I will! Thanks, Mr. Rose.”

“Just Rose is fine, Leon.” He said that every time, but Leon always kept the formalities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The match was one of the longer ones Rose could ever remember seeing, but it was also the greatest one, too. Leon had been magnificent just as he predicted, and he couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride for the young boy. Seeing Leon bask in the confetti and cheers was like seeing a fabled hero celebrating his greatest achievement. Rose knew right then and there that Leon was destined to be the Champion, and always would be for as long as he lived.


	2. No Longer a Child

When Leon turned eighteen, he was of age to accept sponsorships. Children may have been allowed to compete in the League and even hold the title as Champion, but that was only on paper. No one in Galar had actually achieved the title at such a tender age, and so Macro Cosmos had gone to work drafting the official legal protections for children. One of those laws was that sponsorships could only be accepted by gym leaders and Champions who had reached the age of eighteen. This avoided a slew of child exploitation, coercion and corruption issues. That was what Rose had explained to him, anyway. Personally, Leon thought he could have made educated choices about what brands to associate himself with far younger than he was now, but if it protected the company, he was happy to play along.

Now, though, he was excited to sit down with Rose and look over the seemingly endless list of sponsors wanting their logo on Leon’s back- literally. It was tradition to put sponsor logos on the Champion cape, each Champion having their own that they could keep after their reign was over. Leon’s cape had just come in, and it fit like a charm.

Leon also couldn’t help but be happy to be able to see Rose again. It had been ages since they could sit down and talk. Leon barely had time for his own family, let alone friends, a term Leon had been applying to his past sponsor for years now. Despite his busy schedule, Rose was always there for him when he needed it, and Arceus knew it was quite often that he needed it at first. Leon had no idea how to handle reporters, interviews, photo shoots, social media, and especially the fans. Thousands upon thousands of people knew who he was now, and wanted to know everything about him. It was a daunting thing at first, but Rose’s advice and guidance had seen him through it. It was still a bit much sometimes, but with a smile and a cool pose, Leon was able to satisfy almost anyone wanting a picture or question answered.

The worst questions were about him and the Chairman, though. Leon always had a father figure in his life; his dad and grandpa were always supporting him and his brother. They had a great relationship, and still talked often. Because of this, Leon always felt weird when people tried to say Rose was like a father to him. He already had a father, and was not looking for another one, especially in the Chairman. He was far too young and much too different from Leon to be his father figure. Rose was mysterious in a way, but was always so friendly and lighthearted. He had given Leon the chance to be everything that he was today, but never once held it over his head. He had done it out of his belief in Leon, and wanted nothing in return. He was, in all sense of the word, an extremely valuable friend. A partner, almost.

Leon blushed at that thought. Partner was a bit too personal sounding, and something Leon did not want to think about when he was sitting less than two feet away from Rose. 

“Alright, Champion, here is the list. It is a mere fraction of it, as Oleana already went through the original and picked out the ones best suited for your image. I encouraged her to keep ones you would find fun, too. Not everything is about business.”

“Thanks, Ms. Oleana, that’s a big help.” The stoic woman who was standing behind Rose’s chair as always only nodded. Rose quickly took up the conversation again,

“I went ahead and highlighted my favorites, but it is up to you in the end! I am merely here to answer any questions you might have.”

Leon skimmed the list, turning the pages as he went. Oleana had been very thorough as always, including a brief description under each name, along with a picture of their company logo and the amount of money they were offering. The Gym Challenge League and Macro Cosmos logos were mandatorily placed near the top of the cape, but Leon still had a lot of spare space for the rest. As he read, he checked off a few he liked; a record company for his own pleasure, the Pokemon Center branch, the Flying Taxi Service, a Hospital branch and the train station in Wedgehurst.

“Hmm. Looks like I only have room for one more. Any suggestions, Chairman?”

“Well, if it were me, I would choose the Motostoke Mining Company.” Rose flipped through the packet until he reached the near end of it. The logo was a plain brown-and-white circle design and the money was not what Leon would expect it to be for the Chairman to suggest it. Rose seemed to catch on to Leon’s confusion and cleared his throat, “I used to work very closely with them. They are good people who give opportunities to their lower ranked employees to move upwards. You should support businesses with good practices like that, the fans will notice and appreciate it.”

“Alright, sounds good to me!”

“Not so fast,” Oleana chimed in. She took the packet from Leon’s hands and replaced it with an even bigger one with tiny words covering every inch of every page. Leon couldn’t help but start sweating a little. “We are not finished until you complete the necessary legal agreements. I have condensed the basics into these forms, while I will handle signing the deals with the specific companies you have chosen. I doubted that you would be interested in sitting down with every one of them in a meeting.”

“Yeah, doesn’t really sound like my thing. I guess I can sign these, then, if it means it’ll be easier for everyone.” Oleana nodded, and Leon got to work. He half expected Rose to leave now that he wasn’t really needed, but the man stayed seated beside him, watching him sign his name on every page. The company was nice.

Sure enough, though, the moment was ruined. Oleana’s phone went off, which she quickly answered without missing a beat. “This is Oleana. Yes... Hammerlock? It is already ten minutes until noon, why didn’t you call sooner? The Chairman is a busy man, you should have made an appointment.”

“It’s the power plant, isn’t it?” Rose stood up and offered his hand, “Let me speak to them.” Oleana looked surprised, but obliged nonetheless. Rose put the phone to his ear and answered in a friendly manner completely unlike his secretary.

“This is Rose!.. Ah, yes, of course. I may be a bit late, but I will make an effort to arrive as soon as possible, say, ten minutes?...Yes, goodbye.” He quickly gave Oleana the phone back, “Call a flying taxi, I told them I would be there soon.”

“Sir, even with the fastest taxi, Hammerlock is at least 45 minutes away. You cannot expect to make it there in a timely manner. What did I tell you about making promises you cannot keep? It does no good for your image.” Oleana looked like she was ready to pop, but kept the professional image going. Leon felt a bit bad for the Chairman, until an idea popped into his head.

“I can always sign these later tonight, right? I’d be happy to take you there on Charizard. We could make it in ten minutes just like you wanted!”

“That sounds like a won-”

“That sounds like an awful idea. The Chairman cannot simply show up on a Charizard. It is dangerous enough to fly that quickly, and he would be an absolute mess once you’ve arrived.” 

Rose put a hand on Oleana’s shoulder, much to the woman’s obvious surprise. “Oleana my dear, I am making an executive decision. The Champion has offered me a ride to my appointment, and who am I to refuse him? I am sure I will be in good hands.” Leon stuffed the papers into his bag and flashed a million dollar smile at the Chairman.

“Don’t worry, It’ll be a champion time!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Come on, Chairman! I thought you trusted me.” Leon was sitting on Charizard’s shoulder, one hand wrapped firmly around its neck while the other reached down to help Rose onto the Pokemon. Now that it was the moment of truth though, he was starting to think he would back out of it.

“Of course I trust you, Leon. It is just that, well I’ve never done anything like this and, and I am a fair bit older than you are- perhaps my heart won’t take it?”

“You’ll have to find a better excuse. You look no older than thirty-five!” Rose blushed and covered his laugh, and Leon did not know if he had been right or way off to cause a reaction like that. “If you keep us waiting then you’ll be late for sure!”

“Oh alright.” Even though he eyed Charizard wearily, Rose reached for Leon’s hand. Despite the fact that Leon was wearing sport gloves, he could still feel the other man’s hand with his finger tips. He was a bit sweaty, probably from the nerves and the thick suit. With a sharp pull, Leon managed to hoist the Chairman onto Charizard to sit in front of him, that way he could keep him steady. He already knew Oleana would murder him if something were to happen.

All of a sudden, Leon wondered why he had even offered to do this. The only other person he had ever ridden with was Hop, and this felt way different. He was pretty sure his cheeks were burning, and when he wrapped one arm around Rose’s abdomen for support, his stomach seemed to twitch a little. 

“Alright, hang on tight. Charizard, let’s go!”

With a mighty roar, Charizard spread its wings and pushed itself off the ground, sending a strong current of wind around the two men. In just a few moments, they were high enough in the sky to start heading straight for Hammerlock.

Leon was already much taller than Rose, and could still see over his head. Rose was pressed against his chest from the wind, his hands gripping the Pokemon’s shoulders like his life depended on it despite Leon being able to hold on for the both of them. It made the young man want to laugh, but he didn’t tease him about it.

“What do you think?”

“It’s fantastic!” 

“We could go even faster?”  
“I don’t think that’s necessary, really!” Leon resisted the urge to tell Charizard to speed up anyway, telling himself the longer it took, the longer the moment would last. 

He couldn’t quite put it into words, but Leon had a feeling he knew deep down why he had offered a ride to Rose, and it was precisely because he wanted a moment like this. He had always been mature for his age, hence his ability to become Champion so early. Over the past eight years of working with the League and Macro Cosmos, he had grown quite close to a lot of people young and old. Raihan was probably his best friend, but he had also met Sonia during the Challenge. Piers was a really cool trainer too, and Leon was not surprised when he was approached to be a gym leader. Despite all of his time making friends and working with many others, he still knew very little about the Chairman. He came to him for advice, sure, but beyond that he had no idea where he was from, what his hobbies were, why he wanted to be Chairman in the first place, or even how old he was. The mystery of it all almost lured Leon closer to him but kept him at a distance at the same time, and he wanted to change that.

There was already something new he had found out about Rose during this whole experience; the man’s hair actually smelled like roses.

When they landed, it seemed like the trip had only lasted a few seconds. Leon slid off of Charizard with ease, and immediately offered his hand to guide Rose down. “What a gentleman. Just as expected from Galar’s Champion.”

“Pfft, thanks. Although a lot of people would disagree with you. I’m pretty rough around the edges.” He helped the man down and kept a hand on his arm when his legs shook a bit. It was common for someone who had never flown on a Pokemon before.

“Nonsense, you are the very definition of a prince! Strong and tall, with a noble dragon at your side. Thank you, Champion.”

Now Leon knew he was blushing, “No problem.”

No sooner had he stepped away from the Chairman did a few people in construction gear rush forward to greet Rose. No doubt they were the people he had come to meet. As they led him away to the gym entrance where the energy plant was, Rose turned and offered Leon a wave goodbye. Leon returned it, flashing him one of his Champion smiles.

Charizard whacked him on the head with his tail. “Aw, c’mon, was that really needed?” The Pokemon simply smiled knowingly. Worse than his mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already had the second chapter written so I'm posting it with the first. The rest of the updates will be slower, but we're getting closer to the feels.


	3. On Equal Ground

When Leon was twenty, he won his tenth championship in Galar, thus earning his tenth anniversary as the Unbeatable Champion. When Raihan’s final Pokemon fainted at the end of the match, Leon felt a strange mixture of pride, excitement, and exhaustion. He had been the Champion for ten years now, and it was starting to take its toll on him. Sure, having sponsorships was cool, and having thousands of people cheering you on all the time was great for the ego, but sometimes he found it absolutely nerve-wrecking. There were two sides to the coin of fame. On one hand there was the thrill of being successful and having the power to call himself the strongest trainer in the region, but on the other hand, there was the pressure of maintaining the image for a cause greater than himself.

It wasn’t that long ago that he had gone with Rose to the children’s hospital in Motostoke. Rose had thought it would be great for the children to see someone more exciting than himself, and Leon was eager to do something nice for them (and spend time with the Chairman, but Leon would never admit that to anyone), so he had agreed in a heartbeat. He only realized his mistake when dozens of kids spent the whole day looking into his eyes and telling him that he was their hero, that they watched every match of his, and that they wanted to be him. Some of these children were dying, and he was their brightest light in the day. How can someone live up to that image of perfection?

Rose handled it so much better than him. He handled everything image-related better than he did. Rose was always composed and at ease with anyone, and put up a cheerful face regardless of the chaos of expectations and pressures his job must put on his shoulders. Leon was anxious enough being in the spotlight of Pokemon battling, so what if he had to run the whole system behind it and make sure every single detail went smoothly year after year? Just the thought made his head spin. 

Because of this, when Leon was finally left speechless by all the children placing their will to live in him, he was not surprised in the least when Rose was able to step in and give the perfect answer. He had merely laughed and said, “Leon is quite amazing, isn’t he? But you all are, too. Just look at what you are going through, and you are still able to smile and dream big!” He made them feel like heroes, too. Leon was grateful.

He shook his thoughts back into the present, where he was still standing in the arena field, Charizard shrinking from his gigantamax form. The Pokemon looked at him questioningly, but Leon nodded in reassurance. He was done daydreaming- time to get his head back into the game. The crowd was still watching, after all.

After Raihan tended to his Pokemon and took his signature defeat selfie (still looking as fabulous as always), he turned his attention to Leon. “Looks like you win again. Just don’t let it get to your head, _unbeatable Champion._ ” He kept his voice lighthearted, so Leon knew he was joking. 

“You were amazing, too! It was an awesome fight.”

As always, Chairman Rose came out onto the field to award Leon what had to be his millionth award. The crowd continued to cheer, and confetti rained down onto the arena, surrounding the men on the ground in a golden glow. Leon couldn’t help but stare a bit as Rose flipped some glitter from his hair as he made his way towards him, mic in hand. He shook it off though when he caught Raihan watching him. 

“And that concludes this year’s Gym Challenge Championship! Leon remains our unbeatable champion, so on behalf of all of Galar, it is my honor to congratulate you on your victory! Please accept this as a reward.”

“Thanks, Chairman,” Leon said into the mic and took the oversized blue ribbon, striking his signature pose while holding it up for the crowd to see. He got a trophy on his first win, but now he was always awarded ribbons for every year he kept his title. He liked to joke that Macro Cosmos would go bankrupt if they had to give him a golden trophy every year. It was a cringe joke, but it made Rose laugh and that was all Leon wanted anyway. As he straightened out and shook the Chairman’s hand, Rose actually winked at him, and Leon thought he would die from the butterflies eating his stomach. 

After navigating the sea of reporters and cameras, Leon and Raihan successfully made their way to the locker room. The security outside kept it nice and quiet, so Leon could finally start to hear himself think again.

“Well mate, as pissed off as I am that you won again, congratulations. This is your tenth win, that’s a huge accomplishment!”  
“Heh, thanks. I’m glad you were my last opponent. It gave it more meaning.”

Raihan punched his shoulder lightly, “Don’t go soft on me now. Besides, you have to save that for your boyfriend. Did you see how he looked at you _on stage_ in front of _thousands_ of people?!”

“Shut up!” Leon laughed it off anyway. He was used to Raihan’s teasing by now. He fiddled with the ribbon in his hands until his fingers brushed against a slip of paper pinned on the back. Curious, he unfastened the pin to get a better look. Raihan noticed,

“What’s that?”

“It’s… a note.” On it in thick black ink was simple handwriting that read ‘Celebrate with me in Rose Tower, 10pm. -Rose’

…

…

“Is he asking you on a bloody date?”  
“Shut up!”

“I’m just saying!” Raihan slipped his hoodie over his head while he teased his friend, shoving his sweaty uniform in his locker. In a more serious voice he asked, “Are you seriously going to go?”

“What do you mean? It’s not like I can just ignore this.” Rose wanted to celebrate with him- alone- in his giant glass tower overlooking Wyndon City. There was no question in Leon’s mind that he was going, but he had to do something about his nervous sweaty palms beforehand.

Raihan scoffed, “Don’t forget that you have a choice. I know I tease you and all but that’s my job as your number one rival and friend. The Chairman is still, like, your boss, and I’m pretty sure he’s old enough to be your dad. Isn’t it a bit weird?”

Leon blushed, and part of it was from his rising anger rather than embarrassment. He hated the dad jokes the most. “You just joked about him being my boyfriend and now a little congratulations from him for my tenth win is weird?”  
“You’re my best mate, of course I’m gonna give you shit about your obvious crush! It’s not like I thought he would ever actually make a move on you!”  
“It’s not a move, it’s just being nice!”

Raihan laughed wryly,“Yeah, ok. It’s just being nice, until it’s not, and then what happens? It would be too late and you’d be in too deep, that’s what. I just don’t think you should hang out with this guy alone in the middle of the night at the top of a giant isolated tower.”

Now Leon was hurt and started to feel defensive. He always thought Raihan would understand that he could take care of himself, and would want him to have some happiness for himself. Instead he was accusing the Chairman of being capable of something awful, and Leon was not going to stand for it. Through gritted teeth he managed to say, “Rose would never do anything to hurt me.”

Raihan backed down a bit from his pent up stance, but still held tension in his shoulders when he spoke, “You just don’t know that.” There was a pause before he continued, “Look, maybe it’s my fault. I should have said all this sooner, but it was just easier to tease you about it and hope the Chairman is smart enough not to encourage you. Seems I was wrong, though. I just hope you don’t regret it.”

“You’re overreacting. It’s just a small way to congratulate me. Besides, I’m the Champion of the Galar region for Arceus’ sake! I can handle myself, and I’ll have Charizard with me. I’ll tell you if anything happens, alright?”

After thinking about it for a moment, Raihan nodded. “You’d better, otherwise I’ll have to do more than just beat you In a Pokemon battle next time we meet.”

Leon cracked a hesitant smile, just happy to be done fighting. “You wish.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that he was standing in front of the tower, the lights dimmed for the night and not a soul in sight, Leon was starting to have second thoughts. Part of him wondered if Rose would even be there or if this was all some sick joke. There was not a single office light on in the tower, and the taxi cabins were abandoned outside for the day. Leon had arrived on Charizard as always, and even the Pokemon looked confused as to what was going on. He checked his watch one more time. It was two minutes past ten.

Leon returned Charizard to its pokeball and took a seat on one of the benches that lined the courtyard. He tried to make sure his hair looked alright by combing his fingers through it, but he didn’t think it made much of a difference. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about what Raihan had said. Rose had been Leon’s sponsor as a kid, his mentor through the craziness of being famous, and a close friend for a while now. On paper he was Leon’s boss of sorts, but it didn’t feel that way when they were together, which was a rarity knowing how busy the Chairman was. That was why Leon was always coming up with excuses to see him, like needing advice on something, wanting feedback from the last match, asking about the demographics of the season, etc. etc. Oleana was always able to fit him into Rose’s schedule, either because he was the Champion or because she was too impressed that he was trying to be productive to turn him down.

During those small moments and meetings, Leon was able to learn a lot of things about the Chairman. He was always a happy person, relaxed and eager to help anyone who needed it. He wasn’t very organized and was a bit of a ditz sometimes, but his Secretary was always there to straighten him out. He loved the Galar Region and did everything in his power to give back to it, making him an inspiration to people everywhere.

In short, Chairman Rose was a good person. Leon knew it, and he was determined to prove it to Raihan. However, that was going to be difficult to do anytime soon if Rose never showed up. Leon checked his watch again, it was 10:10pm.

Just as he was about to stand up and go exploring the tower, two bright lights illuminated the lot. Leon squinted ahead and realized that it was coming from a luxurious burgundy car, and it was going rather fast for such a narrow street. Leon stayed rooted to his spot like a Sawsbuck in the headlights, and the car came to a screeching halt right beside him. Without even bothering to park it in a spot, the driver popped out of the car and the lights went out. After blinking to adjust to the darkness again, Leon could clearly see it was Rose.

“Leon! I am so glad you’re still here, I got held up at a corporate party and left much later than I intended to. They just wouldn’t let me go! Ah, I was so worried the whole way here that you’d think I played some kind of joke on you and leave.”

Leon couldn’t help but smile; Rose was obviously disheveled from the rush to meet him. His hair was more out of place than usual and he spoke in a rushed, excited tone very unlike his usual calmness. It was rather endearing, especially knowing it was because of him.

“No worries! I figured that must’ve been the case. Although if you were at a party you didn’t have to leave for my sake.”

Rose waved it off, “Nonsense, it was just the usual business get-together after the tournament finale. Nothing special at all, and certainly nothing that would keep me from seeing you.” Leon was glad it was dark so that Rose couldn’t see the goofy smile on his face from those words. There was a silence that lasted about three heartbeats before Rose broke eye contact and looked at his shows a bit nervously. “Shall we head inside?”

“Sure, lead the way.” They walked to the tower’s large glass doors, and Rose fished around in his suit pockets until he came up with the key. He fiddled with the lock a bit, and it hit Leon that he probably wasn’t the one usually opening up the place. He was almost surprised he even had the key.

The door gave way, and Rose made a little “aha!” under his breath. He pushed the door open and held it for Leon. It was weird seeing the place with no one in it at night. Leon always came in the middle of the day for meetings and such when it was crawling with businessmen and women in fancy suits. Seeing it this way felt special, especially knowing Rose was the one showing it to him. He followed the Chairman inside one of the elevators and noticed that the button he pressed was the top floor.

“Where are we headed?”

“The dome, of course! It’s the only place fit for the Champion’s congratulations.” 

Come to think of it, Leon didn’t think in his ten years of being in and out of the tower he had ever been to the dome. He didn’t even know what it was for other than looking cool from the outside. He asked Rose, and the man fiddled with his hair as he thought about it. “The original thought was for it to be a place to just get away every now and again. It makes it easier to think when you’re isolated from the rest of the company. Besides, Oleana is much better at interacting with the employees.”

“Really? I always thought you were a natural at socializing.”

“You’d be surprised. Oleana is always correcting me on things. Apparently I am not very attuned to the youth these days; she says I come off as trying too hard.”

Leon couldn’t help but laugh at that. It was true that sometimes Rose tried a bit too hard to sound young, but the way he said it made him sound like a grandpa, and Rose was far from being an old irrelevant man. Despite the fact that he had developed somewhat of a dad-bod during the previous ten years of Leon knowing him, he still looked quite capable. Leon had no clue how old he was, but he still couldn’t be older than forty. At the end of the day, Leon realized he didn’t really care.

Suddenly the ceiling of the elevator opened up… to the sky? No, upon further inspection there was still glass. The platform came to a halt and Leon found himself in a vast and modern circular room. All around it was a dome of windows, revealing the entire city of Wyndon around them. From here, Leon could see over the tallest skyscrapers in the city, and all the little lights along with the bright and full moon made a sort of ethereal glow that illuminated the room. Despite the fact that he had flown on Charizard at night before, something about seeing everything from the top of the tower without the wind in his face and the deafening sound of his Pokemon’s wings made it different. Instead of being a rush of adrenaline, it was simply a beautiful sight. It certainly made him appreciate it more.

“Whoa… pretty awesome place ya got here, Chairman.”

“I hoped you would like it. I know you’re used to being high in the sky, but I don’t think my heart could handle your Charizard tonight.”

“No, really! It’s quite a sight.” He walked up to stand inches from the glass, staring down at the bustling capital. He could even see the silhouette of the mountains in the distance. It really was something else.

“Yes, it does show how wonderful our region is.” Rose came to stand beside him. “Congratulations, Leon. You really are the unbeatable champion of Galar, and so it will stay for many years to come!”

Leon knew Rose meant well, but his words seemed to add another expectation to his name, and he felt like he should be honest with him. He kept his eyes on the city for courage and replied, “Thanks. I hope you’re right. Sometimes I can’t help but feel like, I don’t know... like I’m struggling a bit with being the Champion. The battling never gets old- Charizard and the rest of the team love it! I’m just scared of what will happen if one day I’m not the unbeatable one, ya? I want to keep making people proud, and I want to be a hero to my fans, but at the same time I’m scared to let them down.”

Rose put a hand on Leon’s shoulder, causing him to look back at him. “Leon, you are the greatest trainer this region has ever known and that I have ever seen. Granted you have heard this a million times by many others, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Your talent is beyond comparison! You are brighter than a star and more gallant than a knight, in battle and in life. Even if there ever comes a day that you lose your title, your family would never think ill of you, and besides, you will always be my Champion.” Leon was speechless. Rose took the opportunity to continue,

“When I first became Chairman of Macro Cosmos, the Champion at the time stepped down. It was… well, one could say it was because of me. You see, Leon, I am not the brilliant person most make me out to be. I am certainly nowhere near as brilliant as you. You’re dynamic, powerful- everything a hero of Galar should be.” He paused, almost looking a bit hesitant before continuing. “That is why I want to entrust something to you. I cannot be the one to carry it out, I’m simply not the right candidate, not when you are so perfect in every way.”

Leon was absolutely floored. Rose thought he was perfect? Rose, who was everything Leon strived to be with his fans and his career, who made him the person he is now, thought he was perfect? His brain was buzzing and his stomach was doing somersaults. Part of him wanted to throw up. He appreciated Rose’s praise more than words could say, but at the same time it was yet another person to not disappoint when he faced challengers in battle. It was like he was reassured and even more stressed out at the same time. 

“What can I do that you can’t? Besides the battling, I guess. No offense though!” Ugh, awkward.

“That is precisely it. I need you to help me bring security to all of Galar, and the only way to do that is by using that strength of yours.” Rose let go of his shoulder, instead using his hand to gesture at the sweeping view of Wyndon in front of them. “Everything you see before you is running on a limited energy supply. Currently, I have been able to harness the energy needed for Galar to function through the power plant in Hammerlock, but when those resources are depleted, all of Galar will be plunged into darkness. The glory and comfort the people know now will be lost forever, and the region will sink into oblivion.”

Ok, now Leon was really freaking out. Was the world ending? What did it have to do with him, or Rose for that matter? How long had he known, and why was no one else talking about it? He didn’t remember seeing any articles on the news or anything on social media about an impending doom via energy crisis. This was all becoming a bit too much. Suddenly Leon’s own insecurities seemed incredibly insignificant, but were also clouding his mind tenfold. He was the only one able to save the world. Galar depended entirely on his own power to solve this problem, or else there would be no gym challenge, no champion, and no one to worry about pleasing to begin with.

“Wow, that’s... not good. Why haven’t I heard about it before?”

Rose scoffed, “I cannot trust anyone to take this as seriously as I am. Those who are intelligent enough to assist me cannot see what is important, and the people of Galar should not know before the issue is solved. It would cause panic, and that is the opposite of what I want for them.”

“I guess that makes sense, but how long do we have before we run out of power? People will surely know by then.”

“That won’t be a problem for now at least. According to my private team’s calculations and my personal work, Galar will not experience a crisis for another thousand years or so.”

...Oh. 

“That’s good news! Heh, you were scaring me for a moment there. I thought we were all going to experience a bloody armageddon soon, and here I was complaining about my silly overthinking things. I’m sorry if I sounded so freaked out.”

When Leon looked back at Rose, he wished he hadn’t said anything. The man looked absolutely devastated, scared even. All the admiration that he had held for Leon moments ago had been replaced with blind, all-encompassing panic. It was a kind of uncontrollable sadness that Leon had never thought possible on the Chairman’s face, and in that moment he would have done anything to take it away and go back to their heartwarming conversation. When he finally spoke, his voice was borderline shaking, “It is just as I feared… you really don’t understand. You don’t understand what is at stake!”

“No, I do understand! I’m only saying that we have time, that you don’t have to worry about it so much. I thought I would make you feel better-”

“Better?!” That was the first time Rose had ever interrupted him, and the first time his voice had ever been louder than the professional tone he always carried. “How can I feel better when all of Galar is in danger of being reduced to darkness? If I do nothing, the region will fall from grace and go back to desperate times of people dying for an energy source that will not last! I must be the one to solve its problem, and I only have so many years to live.” The whole time, Leon could tell Rose was making all the effort in the world to calm himself and bring his voice down, but he just could not. “There is so much to do and so little time… don’t you see?”

Leon was quiet for a moment to take it all in. Rose stood only a foot away from him, surrounded by Wyndon City in the background. The soft glow of its lights were in sharp contrast to Rose himself, who suddenly looked a lot more tired than he had seconds ago. It was as if a curtain had been ripped away, and Leon could now see the bags under the man’s eyes, how he betrayed an air of exhaustion with his slightly disheveled hair and sagged shoulders. Just as Leon felt burdened by the weight of protecting Galar as its Champion, it seemed Rose was even more overwhelmed by this responsibility.

They were the same.

In that instant, Leon learned something new about Rose. Before, the Chairman was a person of constant charisma, happiness, and positivity. He was always a guide to Leon, like a light in the storm of fame and battling, the one calm and constant thing in his life. Now, Leon realized that Rose was not perfect. He, too, could experience anxiety and negativity. He was just as in need of support as Leon was, and he had failed to see it until now.

Leon did something that, if someone else had told him to do, he would have thought it impossible. He placed his hands on Rose’s shoulders and squeezed them in a firm yet reassuring way. Looking Rose dead in his emerald green eyes, with all the determination in his body, he said, “I didn’t realize how much this means to you, I’m sorry. Don’t worry, I will do everything I can to help you, Mr. Rose. I promise.”

Rose stared at him in a sort of awestruck way, like he was looking into a Hypno’s eyes instead of Leon’s golden ones. Once his words seemed to sink in, he could see the panic physically leave the Chairman’s body, as his back straightened out again and that small smile made its way onto his face again. He put his own hand on one of Leon’s, “Thank you, dear boy. Together we will save Galar, just trust in me.”

Now that Rose was obviously feeling a lot more like himself, Leon’s heroic persona died down a bit and he suddenly became incredibly self conscious of his closeness to the man. He awkwardly ripped his hands away and put them rigidly at his own sides. “No problem.” What was that even supposed to mean?

Rose seemed to understand what he meant, though, like always. He turned back to the view of the city and let out a sigh, “I’m sorry to have gotten so emotional in front of you, especially when this was supposed to be commemorating your tenth win. How unprofessional of me! I had planned to tell you all of this later when I was more prepared, but it ended up slipping out anyway.”

“Please don’t apologize! You always listened to me when I needed it. I… I want to do the same for you. I want to help you like you did me. That’s what mates do, yeah?”

Rose looked surprised to be called such a thing, but soon let out a laugh that Leon made a point to burn into his memory. He knew now that Rose was not perfect, and it was part of an image he put up for the world just like Leon did, but in his eyes, it did not make the Chairman any less wonderful. He guessed that was how his family felt about him.

“So we are mates, hm? I am honored.”

When they made their way back outside, Rose locked the tower door behind him and the two of them walked towards his car, still sitting in the middle of the lot. “You are always the one to give me a ride when I am in a pinch, are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off at home?”

“Thanks, but the flight will give Charizard the chance to stretch his wings. He’d be disappointed if I didn’t let him take me.” They were standing next to the car. Rose’s hand was on his car door handle, but he made no move to go inside. Leon wasn’t sure where the man was at mentally right now. They had finished the night with a few laughs, but Leon was still a bit shaken from seeing Rose so distressed, and he imagined the Chairman felt the same way; he doubted he was the kind of man to show such emotions in front of others often.

“Are you going to be ok?”

Rose looked confused for a split second until he realized what Leon meant. “Yes, of course. Especially knowing I have your support. Thank you, Leon. Again, congratulations on your tenth championship win.”

“Thanks.” Leon felt like he had said ‘thanks’ a million times and never did anything else to show how he felt, and especially after tonight, he felt a lot of things. He was taller than Rose by half a head, meaning he was at the perfect height to quickly lean over and plant a kiss on the man’s forehead before quickly turning around and summoning Charizard. He leapt onto his Pokemon, barely giving Rose a glance back as he waved and yelled a “G’night!” before soaring away.

Had he looked back, he would have seen Rose looking after him with wide eyes, a blush dusting his cheeks, and his car keys dropping out of his pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm mid-finals and Pokemon is keeping me sane. 
> 
> As always let me know what you think! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading this! I promise this will probably be the shortest chapter, there just isn't all that much to say here. Leon is only ten after all, not much to expect. I still wanted to include it though because beginnings are important!


End file.
